Of 45 patients who died after insertion of an intra-aortic balloon assist device (IABAD) and who were studied at necropsy, 16 (36%) were found to have one or more complications (total 20) related to use of the device. The 20 complications consisted of dissection of the aorta and/or its distal branches (9), arterial perforation (3), arterial thrombi (3), arterial emboli (3) extremity ischemia (1), and local wound infection (1).